It’s not often you hear about a journeyman middle reliever asking to be traded, but Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post Gazettereports that D.J. Carrasco met with Pirates general manager Neal Huntington last week “to express his openness to being traded to a contender.”
Kovacevic makes it clear that he “neither demanded a trade in the meeting nor said he would prefer one” and Carrasco clarified the situation by saying “it’s just something that I’m open to, playing for a contender.”
While the situation is an odd one, the Pirates would be smart to trade Carrasco regardless of what he’s “open to.” He’s a solid enough pitcher, posting a 3.88 ERA this season and a 3.84 ERA over the past three seasons, but he’s also 33 years old and was available for just a minor-league contract this offseason. If the Pirates can get a decent prospect or two for him six months after acquiring him for essentially nothing they’d be silly not to jump at it.